1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data communications network. In particular, the present invention discloses a technique for utilizing ATM SVCs (Asynchronous Transfer Mode Switched Virtual Circuits) to enable broadband service subscribers to dynamically choose the broadband destinations they wish to access in a manner that does not cause undue administrative overhead to the network carrier or broadband destination provider.
2. Acronyms
The written description provided herein contains acronyms which refer to various telecommunications services, components and techniques, as well as features relating to the present invention. Although some of these acronyms are known, use of these acronyms is not strictly standardized in the art. For purposes of the written description herein, the acronyms are defined as follows:                ADSL Transmission Unit-Remote (ATU-R)        Asynchronous Transfer Mode Switched Virtual Circuit (ATM SVC)        Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)        Internet Protocol (IP)        Internet Service Provider (ISP)        Local Area Network (LAN)        Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)        Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)        Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)        Network Selection Access Point (NSAP)        Peripheral Component Interface (PCI)        Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)        PPP Tunnel Aggregation (PTA)        Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS)        Permanent Virtual Circuit (PVC)        Switched Virtual Circuit (SVC)        Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)        Service Selection Gateway (SSG)        Universal Serial Bus (USB)        Virtual Private Network Over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (VPNoATM)        
3. Discussion of Background Information
Many network carriers are providing broadband access services to large numbers of subscribers using xDSL, cable modem, and other approaches. Currently, subscribers are typically connected to a single data service provider, usually an ISP, at service subscription time using a point-to-point or “nailed up” connection. Changing the destination accessed by the subscriber can only be done with administrative action on the part of the carrier.
However, network carriers are now beginning to deploy broadband service “gateways” to which broadband subscribers will be connected. These gateways are able to interpret data sent from the subscriber's terminal to the network, and dynamically connect the subscriber to their desired destination. This enables a subscriber to, for example, connect to their ISP for a session, and then switch to their employer's corporate LAN so that the subscriber may work from home.
An example of the aforementioned technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,339, which provides a communications network that includes broadband networks and a service node to facilitate communications services for an end-user. In particular, the network has the ability to implement ATM SVCs. Furthermore, the network converts POTS traffic to ATM traffic at the residence.
However, U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,339 has a major disadvantage in that it requires one connection for each destination. In other words, multiplexing or aggregation does not occur. As a result, the network is quickly overburdened with many independent connections. Furthermore, the network becomes very difficult to administer.
Another example of the aforementioned technology is provided in the reference entitled “Cisco Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line Services Architecture” (referred to as “White Paper”). In particular, the White Paper technology recognizes the advantages of aggregation by utilizing a variety of approaches.
Similar to the approach described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,339, the White Paper describes schemes that rely upon static or “nailed-up” connections to each of the possible destinations a subscriber might wish to access. If the destinations only include service providers such as ISPs and video-on-demand providers, static connections are not a big problem. When enterprise data networks are added as possible destinations, however, each gateway must be connected to each destination, so the number of connections required is combinatory. In a large metro area with just a couple of dozen gateways but thousands of corporations wishing to give their employees broadband access to their networks from home, the number of connections can grow into the hundreds of thousands. Maintaining these connections as enterprises are added and removed, requires significant administrative effort on the part of the carrier.
The White Paper also discloses an approach that utilizes SVCs from CPE (customer premises equipment) to the edge of the network. In this scheme, the core of the network implements transmission of data utilizing the well-known Internet Protocol (IP) and a new standard Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). MPLS is currently an evolving Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard that has not been widely deployed. Furthermore, the use of MPLS does not leverage the currently provisioned ATM networks. In addition, by launching SVCs from the CPE, the subscriber at the CPE is required to interact with a technology that many people are not familiar with.